Brian Ewart
English 1050
Oct. 7th 2003
In literature, there exist many different
perspectives on the role and stereotype of women, from those that glorify the
gender to those that diminish it. Graham Swift and Jeanette Winterson represent
two differing views on that matter. While both Swift and Jeanette Winterson
gave their lead females similar sexual characteristics, Waterland portrays female characters in a more
negative light. Mary and Villanelle are both sexually forward characters, but
while Villanelle proves heroic in the end, Mary’s story takes a turn for the
worst.
A mutually liberal attitude toward sex
finds a place among the similarities between The Passion’s Villanelle and Waterland’s Mary. In Winterson’s novel, Villanelle,
among other jobs, works as a prostitute for the French Army. While escaping
that situation with Henri he says, “one night she turned over suddenly and told
me to make love to her” (Winterson 103). When Henri relayed notice of his
inexperience, Villanelle followed up by taking the lead herself. This certainly
does not suggest a reserved character when it came to sexual matters. While a
sexually forward character, she receives a more positive portrayal in this
matter than Mary.
In Swift’s novel, his primary female
lead, Mary, also acts sexually brazen. From her “explorations” with Tom Crick
to the paternal question posed by her unfortunate pregnancy, Mary’s sexual
exploits serve to create plot complications. Although we only know for sure
that Mary slept with Tom, evidence exists that she had also slept with his
brother, Dick. When Tom questioned his paternity she replied, “All right. It’s
Dick’s” (Swift 294), but later went on to claim, “not Dick’s. Ours. Ours. You
understand?” (Swift 294). Mary’s willingness to sleep with these boys displays
similarities to Villanelle’s laissez faire take on sex. However, the confusion
that this creates leads to the negative plot twists of the story.
Villanelle and Mary also have polar opposite
views on their own body image. Villanelle acts ashamed of her webbed toes, a
characteristic that she makes every effort to keep under wraps. As they camped
out, while leaving Moscow, Villanelle refused to remove her boots, claiming
that, “my father was a boatman. Boatmen do not take off their boots” (Winterson
89). A weak excuse that, albeit served her purpose of not revealing the strange
form of her feet. In this way we can see Villanelle expressing a sort of
modesty not seen in Mary.
For Mary, this same modesty about her own
body did not emerge. Tom referred to it as “curiosity,” and that surely
assisted her lacking in this area. As Tom stated, “Mary continued our homage to
curiosity by verbal means. She spoke of hymens and of her monthly bleedings” (Swift
51). She showed Tom her body, and then told him about what he could not see, a
definitive contrast to Villanelle, who hid herself, and avoided any questions
on the matter. This lack of modesty will contribute to the events that
eventually bring about her downfall.
Both major female characters have to deal
with a pregnancy, but how they deal with that defines the difference between
them. In Jeanette Winterson’s tale, Villanelle becomes pregnant with Henri’s
baby. Far from Mary’s actions in Waterland, Villanelle opts to keep the child and
raise it. Villanelle tells him, “I’ll bring the child when it’s safe and you’ll
come here when it’s safe” (Winterson 148). She made plans for Henri to see his
unborn child after escaping from the asylum. While he never did escape,
Villanelle intended to give birth to his child.
In contrast, we can see that Mary feels less prepared to have a child when she becomes pregnant. Tom discovers Mary in a curious act; repeatedly throwing herself off of an emplacement, an attempted makeshift abortion. Tom tells his class, “it was not until a certain event occurred… an event involving his wife, Mrs. Crick… that my departure became, at last, an absolute necessity” (Swift 6). The final result of Mary’s abortion, her own insanity, leads to Tom getting fired from his job over all of the controversy she created. Her pregnancy, however, also brought about other negatives.
Even so, Villanelle still came through for Henri, in attempting to get him out of the asylum. She could have simply allowed him to live out his sentence, but her loyalty shone through, and she devised a plan to get his freedom. As she stated, “I had an idea that I could buy him out for money and sex” (Winterson 148). She would follow through on this plan; failing only due to Henri’s own refusal to leave, and even then she still attempted to visit him.
Mary and Villanelle both involved themselves in uneasy relationships. Mary broke her three-year prayerful-lockup to marry Tom Crick. While she accepted his offer of marriage of her own free will, marriage would not have made itself a priority to her. She had told Tom that, “’we must part.’ And then buried herself in that lonely farmhouse…” (Swift 117), where he speculated that she “talked to God.” Regardless, his offer of marriage broke her seclusion, and therefore leads to the uneasy reunion of the two former lovers.
Similarly, Villanelle found herself forming an uneasy relationship with Henri. She did not love Henri in the way that he loved her. As she described it, “and I love him, but in a brotherly incestuous way” (Winterson 146). That incestuous feeling shows that Villanelle experienced some discomfort in her relationship with Henri.
Villanelle, in a sense seems to take on many male characteristics; she is proactive, courageous, and interested in traditionally male things, like gambling, and boats. As Robert J. Stoller writes, “There will never be a direct route to femininity, from birth on, she must struggle to achieve femininity” (Stoller 15). Perhaps this struggle mirrors the mental situation of Villanelle? Regardless, those male characteristics contributed to her favorable portrayal.
Meanwhile, Mary does not embody such a masculine character. Her curiosity, if even a masculine trait, would hardly quality; otherwise she displays few, if any male characteristics. Her father would not have let her, “Farmer Metcalf, intending his daughter for Higher Things… sent her to the St. Gunnhilda School for Girls” (Swift 47). Rather than let her work on the farm with him, he wanted her raised as a lady. Due to this, a more masculine path would remain unavailable to her. Additionally, later in life, she begins to fixate on motherhood, a feminine characteristic, and the source of her madness. Motherhood, the most feminine of all actions, is the construct for some of her worst moments.
The portrayal of the two characters, like opposing sides of a coin, displays a significant gap; Villanelle’s portrayal shows her as a heroine to Henri, while Mary resonates as a veritable archetype of the biblical Eve. In fact, the femininity of Mary lends itself to her negative portrayal, while Villanelle’s masculine qualities help form a basis for her good deeds. Perhaps the viewpoints of the respective authors come into play, or perhaps the views of society in general. Regardless of where to place responsibility for these views, it is obvious that Villanelle comes off as a positive character who aides her lover to escape from Russia and an asylum, while also having his child, while Mary causes nothing but trouble with her sexual promiscuity and later insanity. Mary brings about much of her eventual husband’s bad fortune, and the blame is firmly placed.
Works Cited
Winterson, Jeanette. The Passion. New York: Grove Press, 1987.
Swift, Graham. Waterland. New York: Vintage, 1983.
Stoller, Robert J. Presentations of Gender. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.